Tropical Flowers and Greenery

Mangroves thrive in the shallow waters betweens the islands. This small clump marks the beginning of the long l-shaped beach at Crossing Place. Just south of here, around the ferry landing, the mangroves completely surround the inlets. And at Man-o-War Bush a large cluster is the nesting site for a flock of Frigate Birds. Man-o-War Bush is on the Caicos Banks just south of Middle Caicos.

We've found the flowers on Middle Caicos to be most prolific in May and June. The most common flowers are small yellow or blue blossoms on low bushes. The Butterly Pea is one of the larger and brighter flowers with individual blossoms spread along it's vines.

Mango Tree Hole's moist and shady climate does have one drawback, Mosquitos. The swarm was thick but respected our repellant spray. Also handy was a locally made palm wisk for brushing the mosquitoes away.

Fresh BananasMon 10:46 AM Aug 23, 1999

Bananas are not native but thrive on Middle Caicos. You'll find trees growing in gardens all over the island. In the past, they were planted in "banana holes". These are vertical shafts dissolved into the limestone by rainwater. Organic matter collecting in the holes eventually fills them with rich soil.

Bromeliads and cactus are common in the undergrowth on Middle Caicos. This large bromeliad is near Nanny Pond. The stone wall in the background is typical of those that were built during the Loyalist Plantation era. Some marked the boundaries of plantations and some were to keep cattle from falling into caves or ponds.

We found this Lantana among the thick lush vegetation surrounding Mango Tree Hole. At home, this would be a low spreading bush but on Middle Caicos this bush was a tall as me.

Wild CottonFri 01:33 PM Jan 3, 2003

Middle Caicos' current culture had it's beginnings just after the American Revolution when British loyalists left the former colonies and established plantations in the Caicos Islands. Hurricanes and the boll weevil drove them away a few decades later but the cotton remains in the wild.

Old Man CactusFri 02:57 PM Jan 3, 2003

This cactus is known as the Old Man Cactus because of the white beards that form on mature growths.

No one website can show you everything there is to know about a place
like Middle Caicos. So we founded the
Middle Caicos WebRing
to help you visit other sites dedicated to the island. You'll find
many of the vacation villas, local guides and other informational
sites on the ring.
Visit other Middle Caicos WebRing sites using the following links.
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